WEST TOWN

Chicago Av­enue changes dra­mat­i­cally on its way west from down­town. Be­tween Western and Rock­well, it takes on a neigh­bor­hood feel, with­out the den­sity of other shop­ping dis­tricts. But a trea­sure chest of a gift shop, Ko­moda, is the an­chor that makes this area a guar­an­teed suc­cess for gift­ing.

Pick up a Juliska de­can­ter at flower shop Mar­guerite Gar­dens and a bot­tle of wine from the solid se­lec­tion at Tabb’s Food and Liquor (great beer here too); add a pound of lo­cally roasted Dark Mat­ter cof­fee beans from the Star Lounge cof­fee bar to a set of vin­tage mugs from Bee­hive vin­tage shop; cus­tom­ize a vin­tage flan­nel from Bee­hive by adding one of Ko­moda’s em­broi­dered patches, made by hip Parisian maker

Ma­con & Lesquoy.

A col­lec­tion of house-de­signed hats and cool jew­elry at Squasht; plants in cool con­tain­ers at Mar­guerite Gar­dens; vin­tage cheese trays and em­broi­dered pil­lows at Bee­hive; shear­ling slip­pers from Poland, at Ko­moda. Pro tips: Park­ing isn’t bad in this neigh­bor­hood, but keep an eye out for zoned spots. The Star Lounge is your source for cof­fee, but the Ukrainian Shoko­lad Cafe is an un­der­the-radar find for a quick bite.

What to get:Other picks: Slip­pers made in Poland are sold at Ko­moda, a gift shop in the West Townneigh­bor­hood.